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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29394348">Rejection</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/otomekaidii/pseuds/otomekaidii'>otomekaidii</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Between Greed and Envy [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shall We Date?: Obey Me!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Affection, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bathing/Washing, Boundaries, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Communication, Consent, Consent Issues, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Forehead Kisses, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Gender-neutral Reader, Hair Washing, Insecurity, Kissing, Love, Low Sex Drive, M/M, Mammon rubs your back while you sleep, Naked Cuddling, Neck Kissing, No Sex, Other, Reader-Insert, Rejection, Showers, in a sexy way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:54:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,923</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29394348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/otomekaidii/pseuds/otomekaidii</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mammon had hoped to have sex with you, but when you turn him down, he’s not sure how to handle those feelings. The two of you then need to have a very important conversation.</p><p> </p><p>NOTE - This story takes place before “Beginnings” in my poly Mammon x ace!MC x ace!Levi series. At this point only Mammon is in a relationship with MC.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Between Greed and Envy [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127066</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rejection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>**PLEASE READ FIRST**</p><p>NOTHING non-consensual happens in this story. </p><p>But there are two scenes where it starts to look like something bad may happen, so I do want to warn you in case that is something that could potentially trigger you. </p><p></p><li>in one scene, Mammon caresses your bare back while you sleep as he tries to wake you up<br/></li><li>in another scene, you reject Mammon, but he misinterprets a nonverbal signal as consent. He stops immediately when you reject him again, and regrets his actions.</li>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Can we just cuddle tonight?”</p><p>“Huh?” Mammon froze, his lips hovering over your neck and his hand stilled at the waistband of your pants. This was the first time in over 2 weeks that he had a chance to touch you like this, and he had been looking forward to this time alone together with you all day. And now he had you, alone, in his room, with the door magically sealed to keep your sounds inside and his annoying brothers outside and you were telling him to wait?</p><p>“It’s just been a long week, I’m not in the mood, sorry,” you replied as you kissed Mammon’s temple and wrapped your arms around his torso. You could feel his erection pressing into you and you knew just how horny he was. You had missed him a lot too, after all. But tonight you didn’t want to worry about clean-up, and showering, and your head was stuffed full of anxious thoughts and stress from the week. You couldn’t have concentrated on sex right now even if you tried. </p><p>“Um, ok, sure.”</p><p>Mammon pulled his hand back and slid off to your side to cuddle up beside you, resting his head on your shoulder. He started to wonder if perhaps he had hurt you - physically or otherwise, but you seemed fine. And were presently running your fingers through his hair like you always did, resting your head against his and pulling his legs towards you with your own.</p><p>“I love you,” you whispered, as you pressed a kiss to his forehead. </p><p>“I love you too.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Another week had passed, and with it another heap of stress and troubles. Between teachers nagging you about demonic grammar and Lucifer nagging you about your nonexistent studying habits, you were dead on your feet. All you wanted was to curl up in Mammon’s arms and sleep the weekend away without having to think about anything. You missed him so badly, and the few hugs and quick kisses you had been able to exchange in between classes and before he left for his job were no longer cutting it for you. You just wanted to hug him, and nuzzle into his neck, and breathe in his warm, comforting scent.</p><p>When you got back to the House of Lamentation, you waved goodbye to Beel who had walked you home, went directly to Mammon’s room, and promptly collapsed on his bed. With clumsy, uncoordinated movements you removed your school uniform, leaving you with nothing but your underwear and the button down uniform shirt on as you burrowed under his blankets. You weren’t sure when Mammon would be back, but you knew if you waited in his room he was sure to find you, so you didn’t resist when your eyes started to droop, heavy with sleep.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The first thing Mammon noticed when he got back from his shift at Hell’s Kitchen were your clothes strewn across his floor. He had been rather exhausted up until then, but suddenly he was wide awake and on high alert. He quickly rid himself of most of his work uniform as he walked towards his bed, slipping in beside you. </p><p>You looked like an absolute angel to him, sleeping so peacefully. Innocent, really. You were still wearing your uniform shirt, but the top few buttons were undone and your rolling around in his bed had exposed your shoulder. Mammon caressed it gently before pressing a kiss to your skin, followed by another and another. You felt so warm under his touch, and your scent was intoxicating. </p><p>Soon, his hands had started to wander, slipping under your shirt to tenderly rub your back, as he kissed your forehead and waited for you to stir. When your eyes finally fluttered open, you couldn’t help but smile at Mammon, scooting a bit closer to him as you turned on your side and looped your arms around his neck. </p><p>He hugged you in return, kissing your lips, before trailing kisses lower and lower until his lips rested on your neck where he nibbled gently and sucked at your skin to leave behind a fresh mark. When was the last time he had been able to do that? He couldn’t remember, which only made him want to leave another and another as you continued to cling to him, pulling him as close to you as you could manage. </p><p>“Can we just cuddle like this?” you said, grabbing his hand just as it started to slip below the elastic of your underwear.</p><p>“What?” Mammon pulled back to look at you. He thought everything had been going well. You seemed into it. You had even waited for him half naked in his own bed! What else could that mean besides you were looking forward to this too?</p><p>“I just want you to hold me,” you replied. You gave him a soft smile, your eyes still heavy with sleep, as you tucked some of his stray hairs behind his ear before cupping his cheek with one of your hands.</p><p>“But…” Mammon blinked at you in disbelief. Was he really hearing you correctly? </p><p>“Hmm?” You ran your fingers through Mammon’s hair as you waited for him to continue, affectionately playing with the strands.</p><p>“What...why were you…?” he finally managed to get out, his mind struggling to fully process the situation.</p><p>“I just missed you,” you smiled at him again.</p><p>“I missed ya too,” he replied, giving you a soft smile in return before pressing another kiss to your lips. He could feel you smile against him, so he took that as a sign you wanted to continue and moved his hand back to its previous location at your waistband.</p><p>“Mammon, c’mon,” you mumbled, breaking his kiss and grabbing his hand again to stop him. </p><p>This time Mammon recoiled instantly, like he’d been burned. He sat up so his legs were hanging over the bed as he tried to stop his heart from racing and put a lid on that sick feeling that was building up in his gut.</p><p>“Uh, sorry!” </p><p>“It’s ok. Just lay back down,” you reached for his arm closest to you, tugging on it gently.</p><p>“Umm, I think I’m gonna shower,” he replied, climbing out of bed and hurrying to his bathroom before you had a chance to respond.</p><p>Now it was your turn to be confused, as you stared at his bathroom door. Yeah he had tried to take it further than you wanted, but he hadn’t made you <em> that </em> uncomfortable. He did stop, after all, and hadn’t tried to pressure you. You didn’t see any reason why he would need to run off like that. Concerned that he was perhaps misunderstanding the situation and thinking you were mad at him or possibly blaming himself for doing something awful, you decided to check on him.</p><p>“Mammon?” you called out, when you reached his bathroom door. You pressed your ear to the door and listened, but all you heard was the sound of water from the shower. You opened the door, planning on just taking a peek and seeing if you could easily get his attention, but were surprised to find that you didn’t immediately see him. Once you took a step inside though, you quickly spotted him sitting on the floor of his shower with his knees drawn to his chest and his face buried in his arms.</p><p>“Mammon! Are you ok?” you rushed forward without giving it a second thought and swung the shower door open, crouching down beside him as the water quickly soaked your shirt. He raised his head in surprise, not expecting you to suddenly be in his shower, let alone still dressed.</p><p>When he looked at you, you realized immediately, even with water running down his face, that he had been crying. There was no mistaking the way his eyes glistened.</p><p>“Hey, it’s ok. I’m ok. I’m not mad.” You gently cup his cheek with one of your hands as you rest the other on his folded arms, offering him a soft smile.</p><p>Mammon didn’t reply, instead he simply turned his head away from you.</p><p>“That’s not it,” he mumbled.</p><p>“Then what’s wrong?” you asked, stroking his arm, hoping to reassure him and encourage him to continue. </p><p>“...why do you care?”</p><p>“Of course I care. Why wouldn’t I care?” you replied, shocked, and more than a bit taken aback by the sharpness in Mammon’s voice. </p><p>“Is there someone else?” he asked, sniffling as he wiped his nose, rinsing his arm with the running water.</p><p>“Wh-? Why would you think that? Of course there isn’t!”</p><p>“Then what is it then?!” he snapped, facing you once more, his eyes filled with tears that were threatening to spill at any moment, if some hadn’t escaped already.</p><p>“What is what?” </p><p>“Ya know what I’m talking about!”</p><p>“No I really don’t. Please, Mammon. Just tell me what’s going on!”</p><p>“You won’t have sex with me! That’s what!!”</p><p>“Mammon...I...that’s…”</p><p>“It’s me isn’t it? If there isn’t someone else, it’s somethin’ wrong with me right?”</p><p>“No…! Mammon…!”</p><p>“Just admit it!” he shouted, his tears running down his cheeks freely now, mixing with the water from the shower as he got more desperate. The more you continued to deny it, the more his heart broke. You always were going on about how important honesty and communication is, why weren’t you acting like it mattered now??</p><p>“There’s nothing to admit…!” you replied, almost panicked. Things seemed to be spiraling so quickly out of your control. Had you really rejected him <em> that </em> often? Often enough that he suspected you either cheated or just weren’t interested in him at all? It didn’t seem that way to you, though you honestly couldn’t remember the last time you had sex either.</p><p>“...please...please admit it,” he pleaded with you, what was left of his composure crumbling, as all the anger from moments ago dissipated, leaving nothing behind but his hurt and insecurity. “Just tell me what it is...and I’ll...I’ll fix it...I swear...just! Tell me...please…” Mammon had started crying heavily again, sobbing as he hid his head once more and pulled his knees as close to his chest as possible. His nails were digging into his own arms, so deep you were surprised that they hadn’t drawn blood.</p><p>“Mammon, babe…” you slid forward across the tile so that you were now sitting beside him, facing the opposite direction he was. You reached and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, hugging him as best you could. </p><p>You weren’t sure what to do at this point. Your heart ached for Mammon. You hated seeing him so distressed and blaming himself for something that had nothing to do with him. But at the same time, his words had picked at a decade old wound of yours that never seemed to have time to heal. Once again, your lack of sexual interest was hurting someone important to you. </p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you whispered to him as you too started to cry. What you wouldn’t have given to be able to fix this about yourself. Why couldn’t you just be like everyone else you knew? Why did everyone else seem to have this figured out, but you didn’t? You never got answers to these questions, and frankly you were too scared to even ask them out loud. </p><p>“It’s not you...I promise...nothing is wrong with you...I’m so so sorry...It’s me...It’s always me,” you choked out, trying to stifle your sobs. </p><p>Something about the way your voice broke caught Mammon’s attention, slowing the flow of his own tears. He lifted his head just enough to wrap the arm nearest you around your waist, giving you a small squeeze in an attempt to let you know he heard you. </p><p>“Hey, why are you cryin’? I’m the one that got rejected here?” Mammon asks, tightening his grip around you as you continued to cling to him. He was trying to make it sound teasing in a way, but his concern was growing the longer you kept apologizing. At this point he didn’t even know what you were apologizing for. </p><p>When you felt him lift his head to get a better look at you, you sat up, wiping away your tears and pushing your wet hair out of your eyes. You really should have thought things through before jumping into the shower like this, but you had been too worried about Mammon to even think of anything else. Keeping your eyes averted you offer Mammon one final apology.</p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Ya keep sayin’ that, but I have no idea what you’re apologizin’ for anymore.”</p><p>“I….” your tears start to gather again in your eyes as you continue, “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you. Ever. But...I just...I don’t know. I’ve always been like this...and it always hurts...and I don’t know what to do…” your tears were flowing freely again, your throat burning as you tried your best to keep your voice steady so you can talk. Your hopes that Mammon hadn’t noticed were soon dashed when he reached up to wipe them off your cheek with his thumb.</p><p>“...it’s not me?”</p><p>“No!” you snapped your head up to face him. His eyes still seemed so full of doubt, but you could see the concern there too as he studied your face. “I just...don’t have a high sex drive, I guess?” you lowered your head once more, breaking eye contact, embarrassed at having to admit to something like this. Even if your previous partners never said it to you directly, you knew it was a factor in how short your relationships always seemed to be. </p><p>And now you were having the same discussion with Mammon.</p><p>“...really?” he asked again, cautiously, wanting to be sure that you truly meant what you said. He could handle a low sex drive. That was something that at least made sense to him. It was something that wasn’t his fault. It was just the idea of you rejecting him because he was lacking in some way, or worse, because someone else had already satisfied you, that had been unbearable.</p><p>“Yeah,” you nodded, hiding your face in his shoulder.</p><p>If only there was a way he could just know how you felt. Things would be so much easier if you didn’t have to verbalize these thoughts and feelings. But you knew you needed to, now more than ever. You couldn’t have Mammon thinking the fault lie with him, even if that meant he may decide you weren’t worth all the trouble, “You’re perfect. And I love you so much. And I missed you all day. All week even. I couldn’t wait for you to get home. I just...I just wanted you to hold me and to feel your arms around me. That’s all. I still want you here. I don’t want you to leave.”</p><p>“...I ain’t going’ anywhere.”</p><p>Mammon adjusted his position beside you, this time wrapping both of his arms around you and pulling you closer, into a proper hug. He wanted to believe what you were saying - that this was somehow just your natural rhythm and not a result of anything he did or didn’t do. Still, a small voice whispered at the back of his mind that he simply wasn’t enough for you, and he felt compelled to ask you once more.</p><p>“...you’re sure though, right? It’s...it’s not me…?”</p><p>“No Mammon, it’s not you,” you mumble, shaking your head as it rests against him, “I’m sorry I made you think it was.” You sat up then to check on him and he raised his head to meet yours. You could tell he was still scared, anxious, as you pushed his wet hair off his face, and you offered him a gentle smile.</p><p>“I’d spend all day with you if I could. I’d never leave your side. I wish we had more time to just cuddle together and spend time with each other. I look forward to seeing you every day. And those quick kisses you give me between classes just make the whole day easier. I’d do anything for you. Anything to make you happy. So please, please don’t think I don’t like you or don’t want you around. I do. So much.”</p><p>By the time you had finished your small speech, Mammon was blushing heavily. He thanked whatever powers that be for the fact the warm water of the shower had already made his skin flushed, so it probably wasn’t noticeable to you. He couldn’t decide if he was embarrassed or happy about all the affirmations you had just heaped on him. He didn’t feel like he deserved it, that’s for sure. </p><p>But he wanted to hear it again.</p><p>“Do ya think...you could...ya know...tell me that again? Next time, I mean. Or just whenever. If you...if ya want,” this time it was Mammon that averted his gaze, but he kept his arms firmly around you, not wanting you to leave. </p><p>“Sure, but you don’t mind? That I don’t want it as often?” you asked, genuinely surprised that he didn’t seem more bothered.</p><p>“Nah...well...I mean...it’s not me, right?” he asked, stealing a small glance at you.</p><p>“No, it’s not,” you gave him a soft smile.</p><p>“Then I can handle that, I think. Just ya know...remind me sometimes…” he mumbled the last part, but you still heard it, and your smile only broadened.</p><p>“Of course. I’ll remind you every day. Every. Single. Day. Just to make sure you don’t forget how much I love you. I’ll say it over and over again until you’re sick of hearing it. And even then I won’t stop,” you replied, this time wrapping your arms around Mammon’s neck and pulling yourself into his lap. He didn’t hesitate to accommodate you either, quickly sliding his legs down to make room for you, wanting only to have you closer. </p><p>“Good. Ya better not forget how wonderful I am ‘n all,” Mammon replied, trying to deflect with a joke so you wouldn’t see just how happy and giddy he was at the prospect of hearing you praise him every day. The smile that tugged at his lips didn’t escape your notice however, and soon you had leaned forward to reward him with a gentle kiss. </p><p>“I love you. I really do.”</p><p>“Yeah I know….I love ya too.”</p><p>“We can do other things you know,” you offered, nuzzling your face into his neck, “Things like this,” you continued as you pressed kisses to his skin. </p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Yeah, I just...I’m not in the mood for the rest of it. But I still want to be close to you.”</p><p>Mammon hugged you tighter, chuckling as he finally remembered that you were still half dressed. You really must have been worried about him to have rushed in here like you did. But he owed you an apology too. Even if he hadn’t meant to, he had made you uncomfortable, which is the last thing he ever wanted to do. Your trust meant more to him than anything else, and he didn’t want to lose that.</p><p>“I um...I’m sorry about before...I just...uh...I wasn’t tryin’ to make you do somethin’...” </p><p>“I know, but thank you for saying it, that means a lot,” you replied, a warmth spreading throughout your chest, letting you know you made the right decision in opening up to Mammon. He respected you, even if he was a little awkward about showing it sometimes. And he always tried to do better too, “Could you do something for me though?” you asked, leaving another kiss on his neck.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said, resting his cheek against the top of your head.</p><p>“Maybe, ask me next time? Just so we don’t have a repeat of before with all the mixed signals and everything,” you sat up to finally make eye contact with Mammon again. </p><p>“Um yeah, sounds fair,” he answered, briefly meeting your gaze before offering you a sheepish grin. He wasn’t sure how he was going to manage just coming right out and <em> saying </em> these things, but for you? For you, he would try.</p><p>You smiled at his response, gently cupping his cheeks with your hands.</p><p>“I love you,” was all you said as you leaned forward and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Mammon pulled you closer, bringing one of his hands up to tangle in your wet hair as he deepened the kiss. He could feel you smiling against his lips before you broke away, only to give him a quick peck on the tip of his nose. </p><p>“I guess we should probably hurry and shower now, huh?” You had finally remembered you were still partly dressed when you had felt Mammon’s hand slide up your back. Your shirt and underwear were completely soaked by now, and you knew your hair had to be a mess too. </p><p>“I can um..wash ya hair. Ya know...like how you do mine?” Mammon suggested.</p><p>“That would be perfect,” you replied, leaving another quick peck on his nose and enjoying the way such an innocent action still seemed to fluster Mammon.</p><p>“You...uh...kinda need to remove your shirt…”</p><p>You couldn’t help but laugh at the awkward way Mammon’s eyes shifted so he was no longer looking at you, and you could have sworn he was blushing now with the way his skin seemed to be flushed even darker than before.</p><p>“Well, since you’ve been so good, maybe you could remove it?” you teased, “And then maybe we could make out for a bit before taking care of the showering part?” </p><p>All Mammon could do at this point was nod. He didn’t trust his voice right now, any words he’d try to speak would surely could out as some sort of undignified squawk in his excitement. You laughed again at his reaction, as he started to fumble with the buttons of your shirt. Sometimes he seemed so sure of himself, cocky even, and then there were times like these where he still acted so nervous, that you found incredibly endearing.</p><p>There was still so much you wanted to say to Mammon, to explain to him. Questions you wanted to ask too. You hadn’t felt comfortable having those conversations before...but with him? It didn’t seem quite so scary as it had with previous partners. You weren’t sure why, but it seemed like he understood, or at least wanted to understand. </p><p>As you and Mammon took turns exchanging kisses and caresses, slowly but surely working on the washing and showering part, he couldn’t help but think about just how content he was in that moment. No, his evening hadn’t gone as planned, but it worked out better in a way, because he learned something new about you that you had trusted him enough to share. </p><p>You could have easily dismissed him and told him he was being ridiculous, but you didn’t. You had taken the time to find out what had him so upset, and you reassured him, something he desperately needed. He still wasn’t sure why you had felt it necessary to apologize so profusely for not wanting sex, but he knew he’d get to have that conversation with you one day soon. For now though, he was just going to enjoy holding you and having you close, making sure you knew how much he loved you.</p>
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